US weather in pictures: Wintery blast hits US east coast with heavy snow

A swirling storm clobbered parts of the mid-Atlantic and the urban Northeast in the U.S. dumping nearly 45 centimetres of snow, grounding thousands of flights, closing government offices in the U.S. capital and making a mess of the evening commute. The storm stretched 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) between Kentucky and Massachusetts but hit especially hard along the heavily populated corridor between Philadelphia and Boston, creating perilous rides home for millions of motorists. Above, Robert Burck, also known as the original 'Naked Cowboy', performs in a snow storm on the streets of Times Square, New York.Picture: REUTERS/Darren Ornitz